THE ARTICLE about the future of information and technology (''The future's out there'', September 26, Forum, p4) may be a little optimistic, at least as far as Australia's future is concerned. To begin with, the proposed National Broadband Network will only allow us to catch up with the rest of the developed world and even if the plan for mandatory ISP filter does not shoot the NBN in the foot (I'm highly optimistic that the filter will never come to pass), we still have to deal with Australia's outdated media classification laws.

At the moment Australia looks as though it is in last place compared to other developed nations (at least at a consumer level) and although we may be holding our own in scientific fields, this is of no use until we have a government that is able to legislate in order to adapt to the changes that the future of information and technology bring.

Ayrton Coll, Waramanga

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